The Bronze Era King
Modern Lifters Forgot
Why the standing Overhead Press built the yokes that won wars, what AD Press solves that benching can't, and why Bulldog Grip is comedy.
The most useful and beneficial lift ever — something that is completely overshadowed by the modern-day Bench Press, because people are lazy and want to lay down when pressing the most weight possible. Comfort sells. Effort doesn't.
Back in the Bronze Era, before benches even existed, and through tough times when men and the world were at war — lifts had to be effective. They had to transfer into real strength skills. When men had to carry equipment across miles, hoist supplies, throw their weight onto a wagon, or develop rapid-fire strength to endure gruelling times, they didn't have the luxury of isolating muscles for aesthetics. Having just a bar — and being able to attach whatever form of weights to it — was an immediate build of functional upper body strength. Because a lot of the time, men had to carry things on their shoulders while ignoring themselves to get shit done.
So here we are, returning to two of the oldest and most honest lifts in the catalogue: the Overhead Press (standing variant) and the AD Press — Anterior Delt Press, a seated/incline hybrid that zeroes in on the front delts with controlled stability.
Self-teaching the Overhead Press came with many lessons and caveats — but also humbling moments of not being efficient, or just taking on way too much load that my former little body could handle, lol. Whether my feet position was off, or I didn't understand the "window" method for lock-out, the same principles apply for AD Press — except AD Press allows you to have back support from being seated, which is hell of a lot safer on the shoulders and neck.
Standing is the ultimate form of pure strength and brute force that can transfer to Olympic lifts or general everyday strength. AD Press benefits more as a tool for progressive overload and hypertrophy from the stability the seat provides. Choose your poison — because building 3D, strong, beautiful delts is always a plus for anybody. (Unless you have some insane shoulder genetics, in which case you can spam lateral raises, lol.)
The movement
Set your grip shoulder-width or slightly outside of it. Press upwards. When the bar passes the chin, pull the head slightly back to clear distance. Once the bar is over the forehead, you need to poke your head through the window as you reposition and lock out the elbows overhead to finish.
Then reverse the movement. Lower the bar, pull the head back to avoid bar clashing as you allow it to rest back on the front delt — or the J-hooks of the power rack if you're racking out.
The "window" is the imaginary frame your face passes through during the press. As the bar travels overhead, your head pulls back to let it clear — that's the window opening. Once the bar is above your forehead, you push your head forward through that window, ending with the bar stacked directly over your spine and your ears tucked between your biceps.
Skip this and you'll either smash your nose, press the bar forward of your centre of gravity, or end the rep with your shoulders rolled forward and your lower back compensating. The window is the difference between a press that builds the yoke and a press that builds shoulder problems.
Standing vs AD Press — Choose Your Poison
- Full-body engagement — core, glutes, lats all bracing
- Best transfer to Olympic lifts and real-world strength
- Bronze Era authenticity — the original press
- Higher risk if form breaks — no spotter for the spine
- Back support reduces shoulder & neck strain
- Best for progressive overload and isolated front delt growth
- Easier to push to mechanical failure safely
- Less full-body — but that's the whole point
Seven-year wisdom
If I didn't learn how to shoulder press with a barbell, I'd be vacuumed into the underwhelming belief of using just dumbbells for shoulder development. Dumbbells aren't terrible — they have their place. But as the weights get heavier, carrying two separate weights overhead introduces a different kind of risk entirely. The doom-feeling of a possible rotator cuff tear on a heavy dumbbell press is real, and it's the kind of injury that ends programs for months.
So I no-brainered myself with the barbell, and switched my use of dumbbells over to lateral raises — common-sense exercise selection. The barbell handles the heavy vertical pressing. The dumbbells handle the lateral and isolation work. Each tool used for what it does best, instead of forcing one tool to do everything.
Through interactions in the fitness industry, I was led back to discovering my former Olympic coach Ally Mac — who I mentioned in my Barbell Shrugs review. Super cool Brisbane dude originally from Scotland, I believe — a man who will not bullshit you whatsoever when it comes to perfecting your lifts. The Overhead Press is one of those movements where having someone with eyes on your bar path is gold. You can't see your own window from inside it.
Ally Mac (Aleister MacDonald) — still my pick for the best Brisbane coach for Olympic lifts and overhead pressing technique. If you're learning to press heavy and want someone who'll tell you the truth about your bar path, find him.
Overhead Press in standing and seated variations have been staples in my programs for many years now, with my capacity sitting at pressing my own bodyweight or slightly above. I don't expect to progress this lift quickly either — and that's the point. It requires way more respect than benching does. The sheer factor that the rotator cuff is being put through significantly more pressure than a horizontal press demands patience.
A bench press lets you cheat with leg drive, arch, and momentum. The standing press has nowhere to hide. If your shoulders aren't ready, the bar simply will not move. And that's the honesty of it.
In short, the modern Bench Press has evolved into a strange theatre. Lifters now use Bulldog Grip, exaggerated J-Path bar tracking, and feet positioned as wide as humanly possible while keeping their ass glued to the bench, sometimes with the spine arched into a half-bridge. WHAT?
I'll stick to standing and sticking my head through the window. Thank you.
Going too heavy and locking out weird. The lockout isn't a place to muscle through ego — it's where the cleanest lifters look the most graceful. Force-locking with a soft window leads to elbow strain, bar drift, and the slow erosion of your shoulder integrity over years.
Take it slow and let it grow. The Overhead Press is a lifelong lift — one that rewards decades, not weeks. Add 1.25 kg every fortnight if you have to. The body that presses bodyweight overhead at 40 has a different posture, presence, and structural integrity than the one that benched its way through its 20s. Trust the slowness.